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Ad Untitled Page 1 of 1 Ad Untitled Page 1 of 1 Ad Untitled Page 1 of 1 Article To Correspondents. Page 1 of 1 Article Untitled Page 1 of 1 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 1 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 1 Article Original Correspondence. Page 1 of 1 Article REVIEWS. Page 1 of 2 →
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ad00605
TD OYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION - ^ FOR GIRLS , Sr . J ' S HILL , BATTERSEA RISK , S . W . PATRON' PRESIDENT : — His ROYAL HIGHNESS THIS PRINCE OF WALES , K . G ., Sic , M . W . G . M . PATRONESS : HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCESS OF WALES . THE NINETY -F OURTH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL of this Institution will be held A T F R E E M A S O N S ' T A V E R N , GREAT QUEEN ST ., LONDON , W . C , On WEDNESDAY , MAY 10 th , 1 SS 2 , under the Presidency of H . R . H . THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT , K . G ., & c , P . G . W . PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF STEWARDS : THE RT . HON . THE LORD LEIGH , Trustee , R . W . Prov . Grand Master for Warwickshire . ACTING PRESIDENT : V . W . BRO . SIR J . B . MONCKTON , P . G . D ., Pros . Board of Gen . Purposes , Vice-Patron . TREASURER : VV . BRO J OSHUA NUNN , P . G . S . B ., Vice-President . CHAIRMAN OF THE LADIES' STEWARDS : VV . Bro . FRANK RICHARDSON , P . G . D ., Vice-Patron . Brethren willing to act as Stewards are urgently needed , and will greatly oblige by forwarding their names as early as possible to the Secretary , who will gladly give any information required . F . R . XV . HEDGES , Office , " 5 , Freemasons' Hall , Sec . Great Queen-street , London , W . C .
Ad00607
BRO . H . SADLER begs to acknowledge the receipt of the following sums for the aged Brother on behalf ot whom an appeal was made in the p ' reemasou of the 2 , ith ult ., and to assure the donors lhat he is extremely grateful : —Bro . Thomas Fenn , P . G . D ., £ 1 ; Bro . F . R . VV . Hedges , Sec . R . M . I . G ., ios . ; Bro . Walter Spencer , P . M ., & c , £ 1 ; Bank of England Lodge , £ 1 ; Bro . Robert Clay Sudlow , ios ; Bro . Geo . Bolton , P . M ., & c . 5 s . ; Brj . G . I " ., 25 . 6 d .
Ad00606
ROYAL SEA BATHING INFIRMARY , MARGATE . ESTABLISHED 1791 . THE ONLY ONE EXCLUSIVELY FOR SCROFULOUS POOR . COL . CREATON , TREASUI : HR . JOHN M . CLABON , ESQ ., HON . SECRETARY . 1 his Hospital requires aid . An extra liberal diet table s of necessity required on account of the exhausting nature of this terrible disease . Donors of £ 10 ios ., Annual Subscribers of £ 1 is ., can recommend patients . 250 beds . Average number of Inpatients per year , 750 , and of applicants over 1000 . Bankers , the Bank of England ; Coutts and Co . ; and Cobb and Co ., Margate . Offices : No . 30 , Charing Cross , XV . JOHN THOMAS WALKER , Secretary
To Correspondents.
To Correspondents .
S . B . —An advertisement in the Freemason might possibly bring the desired information , but it is veiy doubtful , unless your husband continued a subscribing member to his lodge . In this case notices of meetings , & c , would , no doubt , be found among his papers . The long letter from Patterson will appear in our next .
BOOKS , & c , RECEIVED , "lhe Court Circular , " "Voice of Masonry , " "The Hull Packet , " "La Acacia , " " Daily Express , " " Royal Cornwall Gazette , " "The Citizen , " " The Broad Arrow , " "Corner Stone , " "West London Advertiser , " "Die Baiihutte , " "Staffordshire Adveitiser , " "Keystone , " " Allen's Indian Mail , " " Canadian Craftsman , " and " La El Taller . "
Ar00608
- **? l / OWj *" vjvjk ^' 5 A ^ k JJJ- ^ y ^^^^^ - ' Mwu . i . ^ A ^ ^ A A AA ^ fcAf il , ^ ' **^ : MT _ gS | aS Wp SATURDAY , APRIL 22 , 1882 .
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
[ We ilo not hold ourselves responsible lor , or even approving of , the opinions expressed by ourcorrespomk-nts , but we wish in a spirit of fair play to all to permit—within certain necussury limits—free discu-sion . ] EARLY HISTORY OK MASONIC TEMPLARISM .
To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Bro . Carson has made his reply to your leaderette anent his remarkable theory , and I propose now to take that reply clause by clause . i . 1 cannot see that Bro . Carson has in any way substantiated his allegation that Anderson exceeded his powers , or caused any dissatisfaction hythe 1723 edition of the Contitutions . Dissatisfaction there seems to have been that
Original Correspondence.
any publication of the Gild Legends should take place at all , but I can trace no evidence of any disapproval of thc 1723 Constitutions ; on the contrary , as we know , in 173 S , they are republished by the same brother , with great and grave additions , with the full approval and distinct order of Grand Lodge . The real point in dispute appears to me to
be the struggle for supremacy of the Spcculatives and Operatives ; and if Bro . Gould be correct , as he probably may be , that Anthony Sayer was of the " trade of Masonry , "—a fact I have never felt quite sure of , we have a very reasonable explanation of movements and agitation Bro . Carson alludes to .
2 . As regards Robert ' s publication being at the instigation of the dissatisfied brethren , I do not see what good it could do them in any sense . If their dissatisfaction was as Bro . Hughan thinks , Bro . Carson says , of a cosmopolitan tendency being opposed to the ancient operative privileges and customs , this publication of the later
(?) Harleian MS ., in which the adoption of Speculative Masons is fully recognized , would be fatal to their very pretensions . If the dissatisfaction arose from the contemplated publication cf Anderson ' s " digested edition , " nothing could be gained from the publication of a modernized edition of the Harleian MS . There is no trace in
the " preface , of the 1722 work of the slightest heat or anger , and the complete silence which Anderson and the Grand Lodge records maintain concerning it , is proof to my mind , that it was so ta say , an accidental publication , perhaps to meet objections , or gratify curiosity concerning the society of
1 ' reemasons which was then beginning to attract public attention . But Bro . Carson has built upon this theory of dissatisfaction , as far as I can see , purely imaginary , the perpetuation or foundation of the Templar System on the part of brethren dissatisfied with the rejection of the old Christian and Trinitarian formula by Anderson . Of this ,
there is not , I repeat , the slightest reliable trace , nor can such an assertion , however great Bro . Carson ' s authority may be respected , be credited as trustworthy history . There is no MS . Gild Legend later that I ain aware of than i 6 Sy . If any such are transcribed later , they are but transcriptive of far earlier MSS ., and therefore the Gild Legends may be
said to run from 1415 , on Mr . Bond's authority to iGSy-iGcjo . That they are all Christian and Trinitarian no one denies , orcandeny ; and this very fact constitutes one proof both of their genuineness and authenticity . 3 . And no doubt the theistic constitutions of Anderson ' s , in 1723 , are achange from the Gild Legends ; and wherever
Anderson drew his authorities from we are not told , though he seems to have seen documents we have not . But because he did so , and because the position he took up in 1723 was reiterated and confirmed in 1 S 13 . it does not in any way follow , that Templary was in existence in 1723 or 1730 ; on the contrary , as we know for nearly certain , its date in this country ,
despite all allegations tj the contrary , cannot be earlier than 17 S 0 . Whether it came to us from France or not matters little ; whether it be the outcome of the Ritde Bouillon , the Chapitre de Clermont , or the Strict Observance , matters still less . Its appearance in England is late eighteenth century . It may have been mixed up with the old Rose
Croix of Herodom ; it may be the remains of an old Templar "Secreta Receptio ; " but in no sense can we in any way make it , do what we will , coeval or contemporary with the Freemasonry of 1723 . I do not deny that an Hermetic Gride existed in 1723 of some sort , and 1 thought for a moment Bro . Carson was falling back on that , but there is not thc slightest trace of 'Templar
Freemasonry . 4 . As regards the allegory of the " Pilgrim ' s Progress " being imported into the Templar ritual , though Bro . Carson ' s illustration is very ingenious , it is , I fear , a little far-fetched . If we can believe the evidence of the serving brother at the trial of the Templars in Paris , preserved in one of the
numerous works thereanent , the travels of the pilgrim , the journeying , the voyages were even then known and used in the "Secreta Receptio . " 5 . I thus fear that , as before , Bro . Carsons historic facts are reduced to the limits of an agreeable , but purely
imaginative theory ; and , as Masonic students seek only after accuracy and truth , we cannot accept , even from so cniident a writer , such hypothetical statements as true and satisfactory history . I am , yours very fraternally , THE WRITER OK THE LEADERETTE .
APPOINTMENT OK OFFICERS . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Will you kindly inform me through tlie medium of your valuable journal whether it is in your recollection or knowledge that anewly made Worshipful Master should ,
on his being installed , in appointing his ollicers totally ignore and pass over , without any explanation or notice being previously given , the Junior Warden for no other reason than that he was compelled through domestic and private troubles to absent himself from the lodge on one or two occasions , the said troubles at the time of appointing
the oflicers being happily ended . In asking this question I will also ask you to presume that there would be at the time of the temporary absence ( throug h the causes named ) of the Junior Warden , several Past Masters fully capable , and of course necessarily so , of undertaking the duty for the time being , and therefore not putting the lodge to any inconvenience .
Original Correspondence.
I enclose my card and trusting you will excuse trouble , beg to subscribe myself as , Yours faithfully and fraternally , Essex , 13 th April , 1 SS 2 . A MASTER MASON .
"NOTES AND QUERIES . "—A SUGGESTION . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — As one of those constantly referring to the " Notes and Queries" appearing each week in your columns , I would venture the suggestion that each communication be
in future , numbered consecutively . It seems hardly necessary to point out the facility with which reference may be made to any note if such a system be properly carried out . Yours fraternall y , W . HARRY RYLANDS . [ We will attend to the suggestion of our esteemed correspondent in future numbersof the Freemason . —ED . F . M . J
A QUERY . I ' o the Editor ofthe " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Will you kindly inform me if there is any difference in rank to a Alaster serving twelve months as
Master of a lodge , and one serving eight months ? the one serving eight months being duly elected at the proper time , but before the time for installation fell ill , and was not able to be installed for tour months after . If there is any difference in rank , will you kindly inform me what it is ? Yours faithfully and fraternally ,
MARK FRAMPTON . [ The difference is that the twelve months is a legal P . M ., and the eight months is not a P . M . at all , as he must serve an honest twelve months from installation to installation . — ED . F . M . * ]
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
THE BENGAL FREEMASON'S ALMANACK AND DIARY , for 1 SS 2 . This useful vade meetim tor Freemasons in Hindostan , has reached its fourteenth year of publication , and is issued under the patronage of the D . G . M . of Bengal , its editor being Bro . Brosono Coomar Dutt , P . M . No . 234 , D . G . D .
of Ceremonies , Bengal ; its printers , T . Black and Co ., 55 , Bentinck-street , Calcutta . We have looked over it with much pleasure , as it is admirably arranged and printed , and contains a mass of information valuable for Freemasons both in India and elsewhere . All who are interested in the statistics of Freemasonry should obtain a copy of it .
HISTOIRE DU TRIBUNAL REVOLUTIONNARIE . By II . WALLON . Vol . VI . Hachette et Cie , 70 , Boulevard St . Germain , Paris . We open this sixth and last volume of this most sad yet interesting work with a feeling of relief and gratification . At last the goal is reached , the weary catalogue of crime , and blood , and shame is filled up ; this " Danse Funebre "
grotesque in its folly , fearful in us horror , is concluded . The Revolutionary Tribunal is at an end ; for this volume tells us of the execution of Carrier and his associates , onc of whom apostrophized him , on the way to the scaffold , in terms of frenzied reproach , thc fitting punishment of Fouquier Tinville , and the judges ( including Hermann ) , and the jury of the Revolutionary Tribunal . Between the
death ot Carrier , and the process of l'ouquier I inville , who suffered in May , 179 J , all those related to the Tribunal had been acquitted but one person ; and after Fouquier ' s death , the convention ordered the dissolution of the Tribunal , disassociated itself from its murders , ordered the restoration of the effects belonging to the condemned . What the exact number of the persons who perished in the massacres of
Pans , Nantes , Lyons , and up and down the country really was will never probably be known ; but Mr . Wallon tells us emphatically that of 2559 condemnations before the nth Thirmidor not two really were legal , that is to say , based on any French law . "Awful fact . " Latterly the Convention and the people seem to have beome sickened at the realities of these cruel
murders ; and the statements of eye-witnesses and associates even , as regards Carrier ' s " atrocious brutalities to women and children in La Vendee , seemed to have made even that ultra-republican body thrill with horror and indignation . Mr . Wallon points out how allwho had a hand in the creation of the Revolutionary Tribunal perished by it , —Robespierre , Danton , Couthon , Dumas , Hermann , St .
Just , Colhnhal , rouquier 1 inville . Carrier , Pinard , Grandmaison , & c . ; and how that in this very fact may be found the Nemesis of history ; and the vindication of thousands of august and innocent victims . Feeble consolation , we fear , this is at the best . _ No doubt it is true , as he says that all illegality punishes itself , but this seems , after all , feeble compensation for justice outraged and deliberate
assassination . The French , ever prone to joke amid the most serious affairs , celebrated the "cloture of the Revolutionary Tribunal and the fall of "Sainte Guillotine" with the following witty lines : " Admircz de Sanson Tintelligence extreme , Par le conteau fatal il a tout fait perir , Dans cet affreux etat que viitil devenir ; 11 se guillotine lui memo . "
It need hardly he remarked that Sanson was thc executioner , who executed Louis XVI . and Marie Antoinette , the angelic Princess Elizabeth , and countless heroes and heroines of both sexes . We trust that Mr . Walton's remarkable book will do much good in France , and arouse , 1 still greater and wider loathing , yes loathing , of the illegal and atrocious iniquities perpetrated in the " Reign of Terror . "
MASONRY IN WIGAN . B y Bro . J . BROWN ' , Secretary . R . Piatt , Standishgate , Wigan . This "History of Masonry in Wigan " is practically the history of the Lodge of Antiquity , No . 17 S , and a most
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Ad00605
TD OYAL MASONIC INSTITUTION - ^ FOR GIRLS , Sr . J ' S HILL , BATTERSEA RISK , S . W . PATRON' PRESIDENT : — His ROYAL HIGHNESS THIS PRINCE OF WALES , K . G ., Sic , M . W . G . M . PATRONESS : HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCESS OF WALES . THE NINETY -F OURTH ANNIVERSARY FESTIVAL of this Institution will be held A T F R E E M A S O N S ' T A V E R N , GREAT QUEEN ST ., LONDON , W . C , On WEDNESDAY , MAY 10 th , 1 SS 2 , under the Presidency of H . R . H . THE DUKE OF CONNAUGHT , K . G ., & c , P . G . W . PRESIDENT OF THE BOARD OF STEWARDS : THE RT . HON . THE LORD LEIGH , Trustee , R . W . Prov . Grand Master for Warwickshire . ACTING PRESIDENT : V . W . BRO . SIR J . B . MONCKTON , P . G . D ., Pros . Board of Gen . Purposes , Vice-Patron . TREASURER : VV . BRO J OSHUA NUNN , P . G . S . B ., Vice-President . CHAIRMAN OF THE LADIES' STEWARDS : VV . Bro . FRANK RICHARDSON , P . G . D ., Vice-Patron . Brethren willing to act as Stewards are urgently needed , and will greatly oblige by forwarding their names as early as possible to the Secretary , who will gladly give any information required . F . R . XV . HEDGES , Office , " 5 , Freemasons' Hall , Sec . Great Queen-street , London , W . C .
Ad00607
BRO . H . SADLER begs to acknowledge the receipt of the following sums for the aged Brother on behalf ot whom an appeal was made in the p ' reemasou of the 2 , ith ult ., and to assure the donors lhat he is extremely grateful : —Bro . Thomas Fenn , P . G . D ., £ 1 ; Bro . F . R . VV . Hedges , Sec . R . M . I . G ., ios . ; Bro . Walter Spencer , P . M ., & c , £ 1 ; Bank of England Lodge , £ 1 ; Bro . Robert Clay Sudlow , ios ; Bro . Geo . Bolton , P . M ., & c . 5 s . ; Brj . G . I " ., 25 . 6 d .
Ad00606
ROYAL SEA BATHING INFIRMARY , MARGATE . ESTABLISHED 1791 . THE ONLY ONE EXCLUSIVELY FOR SCROFULOUS POOR . COL . CREATON , TREASUI : HR . JOHN M . CLABON , ESQ ., HON . SECRETARY . 1 his Hospital requires aid . An extra liberal diet table s of necessity required on account of the exhausting nature of this terrible disease . Donors of £ 10 ios ., Annual Subscribers of £ 1 is ., can recommend patients . 250 beds . Average number of Inpatients per year , 750 , and of applicants over 1000 . Bankers , the Bank of England ; Coutts and Co . ; and Cobb and Co ., Margate . Offices : No . 30 , Charing Cross , XV . JOHN THOMAS WALKER , Secretary
To Correspondents.
To Correspondents .
S . B . —An advertisement in the Freemason might possibly bring the desired information , but it is veiy doubtful , unless your husband continued a subscribing member to his lodge . In this case notices of meetings , & c , would , no doubt , be found among his papers . The long letter from Patterson will appear in our next .
BOOKS , & c , RECEIVED , "lhe Court Circular , " "Voice of Masonry , " "The Hull Packet , " "La Acacia , " " Daily Express , " " Royal Cornwall Gazette , " "The Citizen , " " The Broad Arrow , " "Corner Stone , " "West London Advertiser , " "Die Baiihutte , " "Staffordshire Adveitiser , " "Keystone , " " Allen's Indian Mail , " " Canadian Craftsman , " and " La El Taller . "
Ar00608
- **? l / OWj *" vjvjk ^' 5 A ^ k JJJ- ^ y ^^^^^ - ' Mwu . i . ^ A ^ ^ A A AA ^ fcAf il , ^ ' **^ : MT _ gS | aS Wp SATURDAY , APRIL 22 , 1882 .
Original Correspondence.
Original Correspondence .
[ We ilo not hold ourselves responsible lor , or even approving of , the opinions expressed by ourcorrespomk-nts , but we wish in a spirit of fair play to all to permit—within certain necussury limits—free discu-sion . ] EARLY HISTORY OK MASONIC TEMPLARISM .
To the Editor of the " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Bro . Carson has made his reply to your leaderette anent his remarkable theory , and I propose now to take that reply clause by clause . i . 1 cannot see that Bro . Carson has in any way substantiated his allegation that Anderson exceeded his powers , or caused any dissatisfaction hythe 1723 edition of the Contitutions . Dissatisfaction there seems to have been that
Original Correspondence.
any publication of the Gild Legends should take place at all , but I can trace no evidence of any disapproval of thc 1723 Constitutions ; on the contrary , as we know , in 173 S , they are republished by the same brother , with great and grave additions , with the full approval and distinct order of Grand Lodge . The real point in dispute appears to me to
be the struggle for supremacy of the Spcculatives and Operatives ; and if Bro . Gould be correct , as he probably may be , that Anthony Sayer was of the " trade of Masonry , "—a fact I have never felt quite sure of , we have a very reasonable explanation of movements and agitation Bro . Carson alludes to .
2 . As regards Robert ' s publication being at the instigation of the dissatisfied brethren , I do not see what good it could do them in any sense . If their dissatisfaction was as Bro . Hughan thinks , Bro . Carson says , of a cosmopolitan tendency being opposed to the ancient operative privileges and customs , this publication of the later
(?) Harleian MS ., in which the adoption of Speculative Masons is fully recognized , would be fatal to their very pretensions . If the dissatisfaction arose from the contemplated publication cf Anderson ' s " digested edition , " nothing could be gained from the publication of a modernized edition of the Harleian MS . There is no trace in
the " preface , of the 1722 work of the slightest heat or anger , and the complete silence which Anderson and the Grand Lodge records maintain concerning it , is proof to my mind , that it was so ta say , an accidental publication , perhaps to meet objections , or gratify curiosity concerning the society of
1 ' reemasons which was then beginning to attract public attention . But Bro . Carson has built upon this theory of dissatisfaction , as far as I can see , purely imaginary , the perpetuation or foundation of the Templar System on the part of brethren dissatisfied with the rejection of the old Christian and Trinitarian formula by Anderson . Of this ,
there is not , I repeat , the slightest reliable trace , nor can such an assertion , however great Bro . Carson ' s authority may be respected , be credited as trustworthy history . There is no MS . Gild Legend later that I ain aware of than i 6 Sy . If any such are transcribed later , they are but transcriptive of far earlier MSS ., and therefore the Gild Legends may be
said to run from 1415 , on Mr . Bond's authority to iGSy-iGcjo . That they are all Christian and Trinitarian no one denies , orcandeny ; and this very fact constitutes one proof both of their genuineness and authenticity . 3 . And no doubt the theistic constitutions of Anderson ' s , in 1723 , are achange from the Gild Legends ; and wherever
Anderson drew his authorities from we are not told , though he seems to have seen documents we have not . But because he did so , and because the position he took up in 1723 was reiterated and confirmed in 1 S 13 . it does not in any way follow , that Templary was in existence in 1723 or 1730 ; on the contrary , as we know for nearly certain , its date in this country ,
despite all allegations tj the contrary , cannot be earlier than 17 S 0 . Whether it came to us from France or not matters little ; whether it be the outcome of the Ritde Bouillon , the Chapitre de Clermont , or the Strict Observance , matters still less . Its appearance in England is late eighteenth century . It may have been mixed up with the old Rose
Croix of Herodom ; it may be the remains of an old Templar "Secreta Receptio ; " but in no sense can we in any way make it , do what we will , coeval or contemporary with the Freemasonry of 1723 . I do not deny that an Hermetic Gride existed in 1723 of some sort , and 1 thought for a moment Bro . Carson was falling back on that , but there is not thc slightest trace of 'Templar
Freemasonry . 4 . As regards the allegory of the " Pilgrim ' s Progress " being imported into the Templar ritual , though Bro . Carson ' s illustration is very ingenious , it is , I fear , a little far-fetched . If we can believe the evidence of the serving brother at the trial of the Templars in Paris , preserved in one of the
numerous works thereanent , the travels of the pilgrim , the journeying , the voyages were even then known and used in the "Secreta Receptio . " 5 . I thus fear that , as before , Bro . Carsons historic facts are reduced to the limits of an agreeable , but purely
imaginative theory ; and , as Masonic students seek only after accuracy and truth , we cannot accept , even from so cniident a writer , such hypothetical statements as true and satisfactory history . I am , yours very fraternally , THE WRITER OK THE LEADERETTE .
APPOINTMENT OK OFFICERS . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Will you kindly inform me through tlie medium of your valuable journal whether it is in your recollection or knowledge that anewly made Worshipful Master should ,
on his being installed , in appointing his ollicers totally ignore and pass over , without any explanation or notice being previously given , the Junior Warden for no other reason than that he was compelled through domestic and private troubles to absent himself from the lodge on one or two occasions , the said troubles at the time of appointing
the oflicers being happily ended . In asking this question I will also ask you to presume that there would be at the time of the temporary absence ( throug h the causes named ) of the Junior Warden , several Past Masters fully capable , and of course necessarily so , of undertaking the duty for the time being , and therefore not putting the lodge to any inconvenience .
Original Correspondence.
I enclose my card and trusting you will excuse trouble , beg to subscribe myself as , Yours faithfully and fraternally , Essex , 13 th April , 1 SS 2 . A MASTER MASON .
"NOTES AND QUERIES . "—A SUGGESTION . To the Editor of the "Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — As one of those constantly referring to the " Notes and Queries" appearing each week in your columns , I would venture the suggestion that each communication be
in future , numbered consecutively . It seems hardly necessary to point out the facility with which reference may be made to any note if such a system be properly carried out . Yours fraternall y , W . HARRY RYLANDS . [ We will attend to the suggestion of our esteemed correspondent in future numbersof the Freemason . —ED . F . M . J
A QUERY . I ' o the Editor ofthe " Freemason . " Dear Sir and Brother , — Will you kindly inform me if there is any difference in rank to a Alaster serving twelve months as
Master of a lodge , and one serving eight months ? the one serving eight months being duly elected at the proper time , but before the time for installation fell ill , and was not able to be installed for tour months after . If there is any difference in rank , will you kindly inform me what it is ? Yours faithfully and fraternally ,
MARK FRAMPTON . [ The difference is that the twelve months is a legal P . M ., and the eight months is not a P . M . at all , as he must serve an honest twelve months from installation to installation . — ED . F . M . * ]
Reviews.
REVIEWS .
THE BENGAL FREEMASON'S ALMANACK AND DIARY , for 1 SS 2 . This useful vade meetim tor Freemasons in Hindostan , has reached its fourteenth year of publication , and is issued under the patronage of the D . G . M . of Bengal , its editor being Bro . Brosono Coomar Dutt , P . M . No . 234 , D . G . D .
of Ceremonies , Bengal ; its printers , T . Black and Co ., 55 , Bentinck-street , Calcutta . We have looked over it with much pleasure , as it is admirably arranged and printed , and contains a mass of information valuable for Freemasons both in India and elsewhere . All who are interested in the statistics of Freemasonry should obtain a copy of it .
HISTOIRE DU TRIBUNAL REVOLUTIONNARIE . By II . WALLON . Vol . VI . Hachette et Cie , 70 , Boulevard St . Germain , Paris . We open this sixth and last volume of this most sad yet interesting work with a feeling of relief and gratification . At last the goal is reached , the weary catalogue of crime , and blood , and shame is filled up ; this " Danse Funebre "
grotesque in its folly , fearful in us horror , is concluded . The Revolutionary Tribunal is at an end ; for this volume tells us of the execution of Carrier and his associates , onc of whom apostrophized him , on the way to the scaffold , in terms of frenzied reproach , thc fitting punishment of Fouquier Tinville , and the judges ( including Hermann ) , and the jury of the Revolutionary Tribunal . Between the
death ot Carrier , and the process of l'ouquier I inville , who suffered in May , 179 J , all those related to the Tribunal had been acquitted but one person ; and after Fouquier ' s death , the convention ordered the dissolution of the Tribunal , disassociated itself from its murders , ordered the restoration of the effects belonging to the condemned . What the exact number of the persons who perished in the massacres of
Pans , Nantes , Lyons , and up and down the country really was will never probably be known ; but Mr . Wallon tells us emphatically that of 2559 condemnations before the nth Thirmidor not two really were legal , that is to say , based on any French law . "Awful fact . " Latterly the Convention and the people seem to have beome sickened at the realities of these cruel
murders ; and the statements of eye-witnesses and associates even , as regards Carrier ' s " atrocious brutalities to women and children in La Vendee , seemed to have made even that ultra-republican body thrill with horror and indignation . Mr . Wallon points out how allwho had a hand in the creation of the Revolutionary Tribunal perished by it , —Robespierre , Danton , Couthon , Dumas , Hermann , St .
Just , Colhnhal , rouquier 1 inville . Carrier , Pinard , Grandmaison , & c . ; and how that in this very fact may be found the Nemesis of history ; and the vindication of thousands of august and innocent victims . Feeble consolation , we fear , this is at the best . _ No doubt it is true , as he says that all illegality punishes itself , but this seems , after all , feeble compensation for justice outraged and deliberate
assassination . The French , ever prone to joke amid the most serious affairs , celebrated the "cloture of the Revolutionary Tribunal and the fall of "Sainte Guillotine" with the following witty lines : " Admircz de Sanson Tintelligence extreme , Par le conteau fatal il a tout fait perir , Dans cet affreux etat que viitil devenir ; 11 se guillotine lui memo . "
It need hardly he remarked that Sanson was thc executioner , who executed Louis XVI . and Marie Antoinette , the angelic Princess Elizabeth , and countless heroes and heroines of both sexes . We trust that Mr . Walton's remarkable book will do much good in France , and arouse , 1 still greater and wider loathing , yes loathing , of the illegal and atrocious iniquities perpetrated in the " Reign of Terror . "
MASONRY IN WIGAN . B y Bro . J . BROWN ' , Secretary . R . Piatt , Standishgate , Wigan . This "History of Masonry in Wigan " is practically the history of the Lodge of Antiquity , No . 17 S , and a most